Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-234565 (which corresponds to United States Patent Application Publication No. US2010/0312427) exemplifies a previously proposed mode transition control apparatus for a hybrid vehicle in which mode transition from the HEV mode to the EV mode is deferred for a prescribed time by estimating that, as a speed for an accelerator to be returned toward zero (release) position during the HEV mode becomes faster, a frequency of subsequent re-depression operations of the accelerator is high.